Water sports are now well known in which the wake created by a boat moving through a body of water is utilized to create a substantive challenge to those who use the wake a source of energy that enables them to perform acrobatic stunts. So, a wakeboarder, or wakesurfer, or wakeskier who trails a boat to which he is tethered by a line, leaps over the boat's wake or is impelled by that wake as the boat drives through a body of water. As might be anticipated, the degree of difficulty in performing acrobatic maneuvers is increased when the wake is greater, but the energy to perform stunts is increased and, particularly at a contest where acrobatic ability is being judged, the more turbulent the wake, the greater the degree of difficulty in mastering it and the higher the subsequent reward. Thus, apparatus that cause a craft to create a greater wake are in demand by those who engage in challenging water sports.
Different types of weights have been placed in the boat in order to increase the wake created by the boat as it cruises through a body of water. Most weights have obvious detrimental characteristics. For example, placing several hundred pounds of concrete blocks in the boat may increase the wake, but moving hundreds of pounds of anything into aft position is a strenuous undertaking, and any misstep may result in severe damage to the structure of the vessel as well as to person who is attempting to position the weights. Removal of the weights from the boat after usage is equally tiring, and dangerous.
The device described and claimed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,787,835, which issued on Aug. 4, 1998 and is entitled, Wake Enhancing Structure, constituted a step forward in the art of increasing the wake of a vessel by the placement of weight aft of the hull. Its disclosure is incorporated herein by reference where necessary. My patented invention, which has been commercially successful, comprised locating a liquid impermeable bladder in the boat. The interior of the bladder was accessed by utilization of a nozzle or other means so that liquid, usually water, could be pumped into or out of the bladder. In this manner an empty bladder, which often included a protective sheath and was relatively light in weight, could easily be transported to the dock and located in aft position on a boat. The bladder was then filled with water, which added markedly to the weight of the boat and substantially increased the wake created by the boat. After the trip had been completed, water could be permitted to drain from the bladder into the lake or other reservoir, often by means of a hose attached at one end to a nozzle on the bladder with the other hose end extending over the side of the boat. If emptying the bladder water into a reservoir was inconvenient, it could be discharged into the bilge of the boat for later discharge therefrom. An empty bladder can then easily be removed from the boat to a locker or other storage facility.
While my invention described in the '835 patent has achieved a degree of commercial success, a deficiency that has been noted is the length of time necessary to empty the bladder prior to removing it from the boat, as well as the lack of ease in the emptying procedure. In order to improve the speed of water removal, either a siphoning hose or a pump may be used. As stated, conventional bladders have one or more nozzles that are the means to gain access to the bladder water. To empty the bladder with a pump, an external, in-line pump is used to draw/suction liquid through the nozzle fitting in the bladder. To empty the bladder using a siphon, a hose is attached to a bladder nozzle. However, the hose must be located with its free end below the water level in the bladder or siphoning will stop. When either siphoning or pumping is employed, draining the bladder will cease if air is permitted to enter the system. Further, an excessive length of time is necessary for complete discharge of liquid from the bladder.
It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method whereby water can be removed more quickly and efficiently from the bladder of a wake enhancing structure than those previously employed: siphoning or use of an external, in-line pump.